Tar is released naturally from the seafloor of the Santa Barbara Channel, which is why a beach walk in the area often means tar on your feet.

Trend: Tar

A figure showing tar deposition at Fraser Cove, Santa Cruz Island from 2002 to 2019. Monitoring data provided by Channel Islands National Park Rocky Intertidal Monitoring program

A figure showing tar deposition at Fraser Cove, Santa Cruz Island from 2002 to 2019. Monitoring data provided by Channel Islands National Park Rocky Intertidal Monitoring program

Click for Details Tar deposition percent cover at Fraser Cove, Santa Cruz Island. The park only monitors tar at Fraser Cove and it is believed that tar at this location is from natural seeps. The blue line represents the mean percent cover at a given year while the red dashed line represents the long-term mean. There was a slight decline (< 10 percent) in tar cover in 2014 from the long-term mean, but tar still covered approximately 50 percent of plots. For more information, consult Figure App.E.11.8 in the CINMS 2016 Condition Report.